U.S. patent number 6,177,953 [Application Number 08/882,903] was granted by the patent office on 2001-01-23 for integral images with a transition set of images.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Invention is credited to Stephen Gulick, Jr., Thierry G. Vachette.
United States Patent |
6,177,953 |
Vachette , et al. |
January 23, 2001 |
Integral images with a transition set of images
Abstract
A method for forming an integral image from first and second
sets of images, the integral image to be aligned for viewing
through an integral lens sheet. A transition set of images is
formed from at least one image of each set, each transition image
having a first region being a portion of an image from the first
set and a non-overlapping second region being a portion of an image
of the second set; Then lines from the first, second and transition
sets are interleaved to form the integral image so that the
transition set can be viewed intermediate the first and second sets
when the image is aligned and viewed through the integral lens
sheet An apparatus which can perform the method, and a product
produced by the method, is also provided.
Inventors: |
Vachette; Thierry G.
(Pittsford, NY), Gulick, Jr.; Stephen (Rochester, NY) |
Assignee: |
Eastman Kodak Company
(Rochester, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
25381576 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/882,903 |
Filed: |
June 26, 1997 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
348/59;
348/E13.062; 348/E13.03; 348/E13.028; 348/E13.022; 348/E13.043;
348/E13.029 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
13/349 (20180501); H04N 13/307 (20180501); H04N
13/305 (20180501); G03B 35/24 (20130101); G02B
30/27 (20200101); H04N 1/00201 (20130101); H04N
13/189 (20180501); H04N 13/286 (20180501); H04N
19/597 (20141101); H04N 13/31 (20180501) |
Current International
Class: |
G03B
35/24 (20060101); G03B 35/18 (20060101); G02B
27/22 (20060101); H04N 13/00 (20060101); H04N
009/47 (); H04N 013/04 (); H04N 015/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;348/97,99-100,576,578,595,598,606,625,59 ;40/454,427,436
;359/463,819 ;430/228,946 ;345/419 ;355/22,33,75,125
;396/324,327,330,337,340 ;434/365,426 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Le; Vu
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Noval; William F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for forming an integral image from first and second
sets of images, the integral image to be aligned for viewing
through an integral lens sheet, comprising:
a) forming a transition set of images from at least one image of
each set, each transition image having a first region being a
portion of an image from the first set and a non-overlapping second
region being a portion of an image of the second set; and
b) interleaving lines from the first, second and transition sets to
form the integral image so that the transition set can be viewed
intermediate the first and second sets when the image is aligned
and viewed through the integral lens sheet.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transition set is
formed during the interleaving step.
3. A method for forming a lenticular image from first and second
sets of images, the lenticular image to be aligned for viewing
through a lenticular viewing sheet, comprising:
a) forming a transition set of images from at least one image of
each set, each transition image having a first region being a
portion of an image from the first set and a non-overlapping second
region being a portion of an image of the second set; and
b) interleaving lines from the first, second and transition sets to
form the lenticular image so that the transition set can be viewed
intermediate the first and second sets when the image is aligned
and viewed through the lenticular viewing sheet.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transition set
comprises a sequence of transition images through which sequence
the region occupied by a portion of the second set image expands
while the region occupied by a portion from the first set
contracts.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein step (a) comprises:
obtaining a sequence of masks which define the first and second
regions for each transition image; and
applying each mask in turn to an image of the first and second sets
to obtain the sequence of transition images.
6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the image of the first
and second sets is replicated and each mask is applied in turn to a
replicated image of the first and second sets.
7. A method according to claim 4, wherein the first and second sets
comprise equal numbers of plural images from a beginning and an end
of at least one motion sequence or perspective sequence, and
wherein each image of the transition set is formed from equally
ranked images of the first and second sets.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the first and second sets
are plural images from opposite ends of a single motion or
perspective image sequence.
9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the first set is from the
end of one motion or perspective image sequence, and the second set
is from the beginning of another motion or perspective image
sequence.
10. A method according to claim 4, wherein the first set comprises
a plurality of images from a beginning or an end of a motion or
perspective sequence and the second set is a single image, and
wherein step (a) comprises obtaining a sequence of masks which
define the first and second regions for each transition image, and
applying each mask in turn to a corresponding image of the first
set and the single image of the second set to obtain the sequence
of transition images.
11. A method according to claim 3, wherein each of the first and
second sets comprise a motion sequence or a perspective sequence,
and wherein the transition set is formed from at least the last
image of one sequence and the first image of the other
sequence.
12. A method according to claim 3, additionally comprising printing
the lenticular image and aligning the lenticular image with a
lenticular lens sheet.
13. A method according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the
first and second regions is in the shape of a real world
object.
14. A method according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the
first and second regions is in the shape of a view of a scene
element from the first or second set.
15. A method according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the
first and second regions is in the shape of a scene element of the
first or second set.
16. An apparatus for forming an integral image from first and
second sets of images, the integral image to be aligned for viewing
through an integral lens sheet, comprising:
a) means for forming a transition set of images from at least one
image of each set, each transition image having a first region
being a portion of an image from the first set and a
non-overlapping second region being a portion of an image of the
second set; and
b) interleaving means for interleaving lines from the first, second
and transition sets to form the integral image so that the
transition set can be viewed intermediate the first and second sets
when the image is aligned and viewed through the integral lens
sheet.
17. An apparatus for forming a lenticular image from first and
second sets of images, the lenticular image to be aligned for
viewing through a lenticular viewing sheet, comprising:
a) means for forming a transition set of images from at least one
image of each set, each transition image having a first region
being a portion of an image from the first set and a
non-overlapping second region being a portion of an image of the
second set; and
b) interleaving means for interleaving lines from the first, second
and transition sets to form the lenticular image so that the
transition set can be viewed intermediate the first and second sets
when the image is aligned and viewed through the lenticular viewing
sheet.
18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the transition set
forming means forms the transition set comprising a sequence of
transition images through which sequence the region occupied by a
portion of the second set image expands while the region occupied
by a portion from the first set contracts.
19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the transition set
forming means:
obtains a sequence of masks which define the first and second
regions for each transition image; and
applies each mask in turn to an image of the first and second sets
to obtain the sequence of transition images.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to integral images, and to lenticular images
in particular which are composed of interleaved lines from
conventional two-dimensional images.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Integral image elements which use a lenticular lens sheet or a
fly's eye lens sheet, and a three-dimensional integral image
aligned with the sheet, so that a user can view the
three-dimensional image without any special glasses or other
equipment, are known. Such imaging elements and their construction,
are described in "Three-Dimensional Imaging Techniques" by Takanori
Okoshi, Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1976. Integral image
elements having a lenticular lens sheet (that is, a sheet with a
plurality of adjacent, parallel, elongated, and partially
cylindrical lenses) are also described in the following U.S. Pat.
Nos.: 5,391,254; 5,424,533; 5,241,608; 5,455,689; 5,276,478;
5,391,254; 5,424,533 and others; as well as allowed U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 07/931,744. Use of barrier viewing sheets
having alternating opaque and transparent lines, instead of a
lenticular lens sheet, is also well known.
Integral image elements with lenticular lens sheets use interlaced
vertical image slices which, in the case of a three-dimensional
integral image, are aligned with the lenticules so that a
three-dimensional image is viewable when the lenticules are
vertically oriented with respect to a viewer's eyes. Similar
integral image elements, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
3,268,238 and 3,538,632, can be used to convey a number of
individual two-dimensional scenes (such as unrelated scenes or a
sequence of scenes depicting motion) rather than one or more
three-dimensional images. Such elements then, when tilted through a
range of angles with respect to a viewer's eyes (by moving the
element and/or the viewer's eyes), can display different images
(whether different perspectives of the same scene) and/or unrelated
images, and/or a sequence of images depicting a motion sequence of
events. With improvements in technology, the effects obtained can
be startling.
Integral image elements using reflective layers behind the integral
image to enhance viewing of the integral image by reflected light,
are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,258, 2,500,511,
2,039,648, 1,918,705 and GB 492,186.
In a typical method of assembling a lenticular type of integral
image element, an original negative is exposed from stored
digitized data of a composite lenticular image on a film writer. A
suitable film writer is the Symbolic Sciences International Fire
1000 and the LVT Model 1620B, available from Light Valve
Technology, a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.
A suitable negative exposure technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,276,478. After photographic processing, the negative is
printed, typically by a projection enlarger, onto a suitable film-
or paper-based photographic print stock. After processing, the
lenticular composite print is coated with adhesive, aligned with a
lenticular lens sheet, and pressed against the lens sheet to
permanently adhere to it in proper registration with the printed
lenticular composite image. However, it is also known to write the
lenticular image directly onto a back side of a lenticular lens
sheet which is coated with a suitable receiving layer, such as
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,349,419 and 5,279,912. Furthermore,
such "writing" of the lenticular image can be temporary, as in a
display produced on a CRT or Liquid Crystal Display ("LCD") screen
immediately adjacent the back side.
One difficulty with lenticular images though, occurs when one image
of the lenticular image is substantially different in content than
the next. For example, when the lenticular image is composed of a
motion sequence, the first and last images in the sequence will be
considerably different in content with respect to the one or more
elements in the image scene which are in motion. As the image
element is tilted through a range of angles to observe the images
of lenticular image (such as the motion sequence), an undesirable
jumping takes place between such images of substantially different
content For example, in the case of a lenticular image carrying a
single motion sequence, during tilting of the image element through
a range of angles to observe the motion sequence, a sudden jumping
will be observed between the last and first images of the motion
sequence as the angle is increased beyond the primary viewing angle
of the images. Such jumping can be very distracting from the
viewer's enjoyment of the content of the lenticular image itself.
Further, because of this jumping viewers often have problems in
seeing all the images and understanding their logical succession,
as in the case of a lenticular motion sequence.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide viewers with
lenticular images with a means which reduces or eliminates such
distracting jumping and the resulting problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention then, provides a method of forming an
integral image (particularly a lenticular image) from first and
second sets of images, the integral image to be aligned for viewing
through an integral lens sheet, comprising:
a) forming a transition set of images from at least one image of
each set, each transition image having a first region being a
portion of an image from the first set and a non-overlapping second
region being a portion of an image of the second set;
b) interleaving lines from the first, second and transition sets to
form the integral image so that the transition set can be viewed
intermediate the first and second sets when the image is aligned
and viewed through the integral lens sheet.
The present invention further provides an apparatus which can
execute the foregoing method, and which uses any suitable means
(such as a suitably programmed general purpose process and/or
hardware equivalents for all or some of the steps of the method).
The present invention further provides an integral image (including
a lenticular image) which can be produced by such a method or
apparatus. Such integral image elements comprise:
interleaved lines from a first set of images, a second set of
images, and a transition set of images, so that the transition set
can be viewed intermediate the first and second sets when the image
is aligned and viewed through the integral lens sheet;
wherein each transition image has a first region being a portion of
an image from the first set and a non-overlapping second region
being a portion of an image of the second set.
An integral image element of the present invention (particularly a
lenticular image element) includes an integral image of the present
invention (particularly a lenticular image) aligned with an
integral viewing sheet (such as lenticular lens sheet or barrier
sheet) for viewing of the integral image through the viewing
sheet.
The methods, apparatus, and integral images of the present
invention then, provide a means in integral images in which jumping
between images of substantially different scene content, such as
occurs when tilting a lenticular element to view a motion sequence,
can be reduced or eliminated to allow a user to view the integral
image with little or no distraction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference
to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of lenticular
image element showing the lenticular image spaced apart from the
lenticular lens sheet for clarity.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a user viewing a conventional lenticular
image in the element of FIG. 1 by rocking it back and forth through
an angle .
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating what the user would see from the
action of FIG. 2 with a conventional lenticular image present.
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a sequence of images making up a
lenticular image of the present invention, and which sequence
includes a transition set of images.
FIG. 5 is a schematic similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating what the
user would see from the action of FIG. 2 but with the lenticular
image element carrying a lenticular image made of the sequence of
FIG. 4.
FIGS. 6 to 8 are a side views of a user looking at different image
lines of a lenticular image as a lenticular image element is tilted
through a range of angles.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIGS. 6 to 8 but with the
lenticular image element tilted at a different angle.
FIG. 10 is a schematic showing in more detail a sequence of images
forming a transition set of images in a lenticular image of the
present invention.
FIG. 11 is schematic similar to FIG. 10 but showing a sequence of
images forming another transition set of images in a lenticular
image of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a schematic similar to FIG. 5 but showing a sequence of
images forming still another transition set of images in a
lenticular image of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a schematic illustrating application of one method of
the present invention to form a transition set of images such as
seen in FIG. 12.
FIG. 14 is a schematic similar to FIG. 13 but illustrating another
method of the present invention as used to form a transition set
between two different motion image sequences.
FIG. 15 is a schematic similar to FIG. 13 but illustrating another
method of the present invention as used to form a transition set
between the beginning and end images of a single motion
sequence.
FIG. 16 illustrates the application of the present invention to
images which are interleaved into a lenticular image.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been
used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are
common to the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, it will be understood that a "set" of
images includes one or more images. The images may be of any type,
and include any number or all of the images being images of real
world scenes or computer generated images. The first and second
sets of images (again, each set being one or more images) include
images which are unrelated in scene content (that is, one or more
or all of the elements in one scene are different from the elements
in the other scene) or images which are related such as being from
a single sequence of motion images. For example, one set may be one
image or a sequence of plural images from a beginning of one motion
image sequence while the other may be one image or a sequence of
plural images form the end of another motion image sequence.
It will be appreciated in the present invention, that while the
integral lens sheet could be a fly's eye lens sheet it is more
preferably a lenticular lens sheet with lenticules on a front
surface, in which case the corresponding image used with the sheet
is a lenticular image. Alternatively, the integral lens sheet could
have regions of varying indices of refraction through its volume
configured in such a way as to provide (in conjunction with the
surfaces of the sheet, such as a curved external surface, flat
external surface or some other shape) the same optical deflection
of light rays as would be provided by a conventional fly's eye or
lenticular lens sheet. Also, the back surface of the lens sheet may
also be curved so as to either strengthen the lens effect or
compensate for the curved focal plane which may be inherent in the
lens construction. Consequently, the curvature on the back side may
be of such a shape as to match the curvature of the focal plane of
the lens. Further, by an "integral" image is referenced an image
composed of segments (interleaved lines, in the case of a
lenticular image) from at least one complete image (and typically
more than one image), which segments are aligned with respective
individual lenses so that each of the one or more images is
viewable when a user's eyes are at the correct angle relative to
the imaging element. An integral lens web may be a continuous web
of any integral element lens sheet type.
It will be appreciated throughout this application, by a
"processor" is referenced a suitable signal processor, such as a
suitably programmed general purpose digital processor or hard wired
equivalent circuitry. These techniques can also be used to correct
for curvature of a lenticule axis.
As to the receiving medium on which the integral image is written,
this can simply be the back side of the integral lens sheet (which
in a conventional integral lens sheet is opposite shaped lens
surfaces, such as the semi-cylindrical shaped lens surfaces of a
lenticular lens sheet). Alternatively, the image receiving medium
could be one or more layers coated on the back side, such as a
photosensitive layer or layers (which may in particular be any
known photographic layer or layers). It will be understood though,
that if a transparent substrate bearing one or more photographic
layers or other writeable image bearing layers using thermal or
inkjet electrophotographic methods (such as the transparent base of
a conventional photographic film) is attached to a lenticular lens
sheet by adhering the transparent substrate, the transparent
substrate can then be considered to be part of a completed
lenticular lens sheet (such that the photographic layers are still
part of the back side of the completed lenticular lens sheet).
Additionally, the image receiving medium on the back side, can be
covered with a protective layer either before or after writing the
image. In the case of such a protective layer covering before
writing the image, the protective layer can be transparent so that
writing can be done by a light beam illuminating photosensitive
layers on the back side. It will also be appreciated that the
methods of the present invention can be applied to integral images
(and particularly lenticular images) which can exhibit a wide range
of effects including motion, depth, flip (that is, apparently
unrelated images), and other lenticular related effects.
In this application, by a perspective sequence of images is
referenced a sequence of images (at least two) in an integral image
which are views of a scene taken from different perspectives (that
is, from different angular positions) and thereby provide a
three-dimensional effect when viewed through the integral lens
sheet. Such a sequence is also referred to as a "depth image". If
at least three different perspectives images are used, this can
include the ability to at least partially look around an object in
the scene. A motion sequence is a sequence of images (such as two,
three, four or more images) each image of which has at least one
(or most, or all) scene element in common but which changes
location, shape or size within the scene in a logical manner
through the sequence. Motion image sequences for lenticular images
are generally two-dimensional images but can be made from a
perspective sequences. By a two-dimensional image is referenced an
image which, when aligned and viewed through an integral lens, does
not have any viewable depth element (that is, it does not appear
three-dimensional and the viewer cannot look around it at all). By
a scene element in this regard, is referenced the same view of the
same object (which includes the object appearing to be the same
size).
Turning now to the drawings, a typical lenticular image element, as
seen on FIG. 1, includes a lenticular image (11) containing sets 14
of interleaved lines (only some sets 14 being shown in FIG. 1 for
clarity), taken from individual images. Each set 14 contains a line
from each image, in a manner well known in the lenticular imaging
art. The lenticular image element also includes a lenticular lens
sheet (12). Lens sheet (12) includes on a front side 12a, plural
adjacent and parallel straight lenticules 13 with their convex lens
surfaces. Lenticular image 11 is typically positioned adjacent a
back side 12b of lens sheet 12 (although it could be spaced
therefrom) with each set of lines 14 aligned with a corresponding
lenticule 13. Such alignment does not necessarily require that all
lines of a set 14 will be directly beneath a corresponding
lenticule 13 (although they often will be), since in some cases
such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,276,478 and 5,278,608, some
of the lines of a set may in fact be beneath an adjacent lenticule.
Image 11 when aligned with lens sheet 12, are together sometimes
referenced as a lenticular image element. When image 11 and lens
sheet 12 are positioned horizontally as shown in FIG. 1, with the
lenticules of sheet 12 parallel to the plane of a viewer's eyes
(sometimes referenced as a user or observer). lens sheet 12 allows
the observer to see only one of the images at a time. Note that if
the lenticular image element of FIG. 1 is rotated 90 degrees from
the horizontal position of FIG. 1 so that the lenticules are
perpendicular to a viewer's eyes, two images can be seen at the
same time, thus enabling viewing of a depth lenticular image in a
known manner. With regard to FIG. 2 an observer (24) can see all
the images by successively tilting the display through an angle to
various different positions (21)(22)(23), each one corresponding
viewing of one specific image. The images can be still images,
depth images (which are properly observed with the lenticular image
element oriented vertically), or motion sequences or any
combination of these three. In the case of a motion sequence, the
impression of movement is achieved by tilting the lenticular image
through an angle and at such a speed that the sequence of images
embedded in it appears to the observer at an appropriate frame
rate. In FIG. 2, lenticules 13 are not visible since in practice
they are typically of very small width (for example, less than 1
millimeter).
Lenticular images exhibit a specific behavior which consists of
displaying over and over again the same sequence of images, when
the lenticular image is tilted back or forth further than the full
sequence of images. This behavior is inherent to the technology and
will be described in detail later, but is important to understand
at this point. As sketched on FIG. 3, when playing from the first
image (31) through the intermediate images (32) to the last image
(33), the first image (31) is then displayed again. This behavior
usually causing a jumping in image content, and puzzles the
observer who does not understand that the sequence is starting over
again and perceives it as a sudden and unexpected jump between
images. Furthermore, the observer often focuses his attention on
this unexpected event, and does not understand where is the
beginning and the end of the sequence. Finally, the observer is
disappointed because he or she is not able to enjoy at the first
glance the lenticular image.
The present invention introduces, as seen on FIG. 4, a transition
set of images (34) which are interleaved with the last image (33)
of the sequence and the first (31) of the sequence. By using such
transition images, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the lenticular
image element is tilted to view from the first image (31) through
the intermediate images (32) to the last image (33) and then the
transition set images (34), all of the images are perceived as a
loop by the observer.
The reason for which, while playing a lenticular image, the same
sequence can be displayed many times in a row, is going to be
explained now from the technical point of view. This explanation
will be given for the case of a lenticular lens sheet, but the
understanding can be extended to the other technologies such as
fly's eye lens sheets and images or to lenticular images using a
barrier viewing sheet having alternating opaque and transparent
slits.
The various images embedded in a lenticular image are decomposed
into strips or lines (which may be one or more pixels in width) and
these are interleaved and aligned behind a corresponding lenticule
at its focal point, in a known manner. Such interleaving is, for
example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,506,296, 5,278,608,
5,276,478, 5,455,689, and 3,534,164. Thus, as seen on FIG. 6 when
the observer (24) is looking through the lenticular array, he or
she can see, projected to the infinite, the image line (42). By
seeing simultaneously all the lenticules, one can see
simultaneously all the image lines of one image and hence can see
the complete corresponding image. As shown in FIG. 7, as the view
angle of the observer (24) relative to the lenticular image is
altered, an image line (43) from another image will be seen by the
observer behind the lenticule array (and hence the observer sees a
different image). Because the width of each image line is much
narrower than the width of the lenticule itself, many image lines
can be behind the same lenticule (the number of different image
lines corresponding to the number of images that can be seen). The
image which is then seen by the observer depends on the view angle
of the lenticular image.
However, the space available behind each lenticule is limited and
only a limited number of image lines can take place behind each
lenticule. Thus, as seen on FIG. 8, when the lenticular image is
tilted further than the last image line under the lenticule, the
observer (24) can see the first image line (45) under the adjacent
lenticule. This phenomenon implies that in the case where the
images have a logical order, the lenticular image jumps suddenly
from the last image to the first image. As seen on FIG. 9, the
image seen by the observer (24) in this case is also the first
image line (45) under the adjacent lenticule.
Thus it is important to understand that this specific behavior
which is a problem for the observer, will be turned into an
advantage by the present invention. By using a transition set of
images between the end and the beginning of a series of images
encoded on a lenticular image the way these images are displayed is
converted into a loop mode, as described on FIG. 5, instead of the
play and repeat mode shown on FIG. 3. The loop mode leads to an
other advantage which is the fact that the notion of beginning and
end of the series of images no longer has any meaning, because
there is no beginning or end in a loop.
However, there is a need to select a first image to be encoded on
the lenticular image. This first image can be any of the images in
the sequence, and the sequence in this case will look exactly the
same as long as all the images are encoded in the right order. The
only difference is the fact that the lenticular image has to be
tilted to a different angle to see the first image. Therefore, it
may be appropriate to chose carefully the angle of the lenticular
image versus the sight axis of the observer so that the beginning
of the content of the lenticular image becomes easier to find. One
possibility is to encode this first image so that it appears to the
observer when the display is hold perpendicular to the sight
axis.
It should be noted that the notion related to the selection of a
first image is independent of the presence or absence of a
transition in the series of images and can be implemented in a
series of images without any transition. However, transitions are
required to fully take advantage of this loop mode by displaying a
continuous content versus a jumpy content when no transition has
been included.
The present invention introduces a set of transition images which
typically has from one to twenty and more specifically from two to
four images positioned between other images such as the beginning
and end of a sequence of images. It has been discovered that the
power of interpolation of the human eye is such that the transition
looks smooth when it is made of only a few images typically from
two to four and when they are played fast enough. However, the
number of images that can be selected to create the transition is
not limited to four and can be extended as required.
A pattern for the transition image set can be chosen among the
following, but are not limited to these, and any kind of transition
known to one skilled in the art is suitable for the purpose we are
dealing with.
A first kind of transition shown in FIG. 10, consists of replacing
progressively one image (51) by the other (55) starting at one
margin and sweeping through transition set images 52, 53, 54 to the
other margin. A second kind of transition shown in FIG. 11,
consists in displaying the second image (65) into a geometric form
starting at a given point of the first image (61) and expending
through transition set images (62)(63)(64) until it covers the full
area of the lenticular image. A third kind of transition, described
in FIG. 12, consists in the progressive replacement of the first
image (71) by the second image (75) following a rotational pattern
centered on one point of the image which covers gradually
(72)(73)(74) the first image. A fourth kind of transition consists
in the progressive dissolve of one image into the other by the
progressive replacement of all the pixels of one of the image by
the pixels of the other image using a geometric or random pattern.
Each one of these transitions can be mathematically built up and
then sampled down to a few images typically from one two twenty and
then be used to construct the desired transition. The transitions
can be placed at different locations in the succession of images
and some examples will be described hereafter.
In each of the foregoing types of transitions, it will be seen that
the progressing through the sequence of transition images, the
region occupied by a portion of a second set image expands, while
the region occupied by a portion from the first set contracts. For
example, referring to FIG. 10 if image 51 is regarded as the image
of the first set and image 55 regarded as the image of the second
set, then the transition set of images consists of images 52, 53,
54 and second regions 52a, 53a, 54a are portions of the second set
image 55, while first regions 52b, 53b, 54b are portions of the
first set image 51. This is similarly true of images 61-65 and the
regions 62a, 63a, 64a and regions 62b, 63b, 64b in FIG. 11, as well
as images 71-75 and regions 72a, 73a, 74a and regions 72b, 73b, 74b
in FIG. 12. Note that the regions from the first and second set of
images do not overlap. It will also be appreciated that while each
region a corresponding portion of its image (that is, second region
52a can be taken from an identically located and sized portion of
second image 55), this need not be the case. In particular the
portions chosen from images from the first and second sets need not
each be a continuous portion (although they can be). For example,
second region 52a could be composed of horizontal image lines (as
viewed in FIG. 5) which are from interspersed locations on second
image 55 (for example, every third line of image 55).
It also should be noted that in order to obtain good looking
transitions, the images that are preferably selected to build the
transition set of images are copies of the image from the first and
second image sets, in the case of still and depth images, and are
preferably a sequence of images interrelated temporally to each
other in the case of a motion sequence and sampled at the beginning
or at the end (or both) of the motion sequence. These images can be
from the motion sequence itself or also can be sampled or
extrapolated at the beginning or at the end of the motion
sequence.
A method of creating these transition image sets in the case of
still images and motion sequences, will now be described. After the
descriptions of these two cases it will become apparent how to
construct other different types of transition set images.
Referring first to FIG. 13, there is shown a method for generating
a transition set between two still images (line 81). The first
image is replicated into one set of three images (line 82). In the
same way, the second image is replicated into one set of three
images (line 83). The transition images, using the new images
selected for this purpose are then generated using a set of masks
84 which, in the example in FIG. 13, represent the transition
pattern described in FIG. 12. Finally, each of the masks shown in
line 84 are applied in turn to a copy of the image of the first set
and second set. to obtain the transition set between the two
images, to produce a complete image set 85.
A second method is preferably used (see FIG. 14) when using two
sequences of motion lenticular images (line 91 and line 92). In
order to build a transition set, a few images (line 93 and line 94)
have to be selected at the end of the first motion sequence (line
93) and at the beginning of the second motion sequence (line 94).
The images in line 93 then can be considered a first set of images,
while those in line 94 can be considered a second set of images.
Note that as shown in FIG. 14, images of these sets of equal rank
are vertically aligned. By "rank" in this context is referenced the
position of each image in the sequence of the first or second sets
shown in lines 93, 94. An alternative to this is to sample
additional images preceding or following the motion sequence, or to
calculate by extrapolation a few additional images for each motion
sequence. The images selected to build the transition set can then
be any of these or any combination of these as long as the action
of the motion sequence is still on going during the sequence. For
each transition set, the number of images is typically between one
and twenty depending on the total number of images available based
on lenticular pitch and the printer resolution, as well as other
considerations such as the desired smoothness of the selected
transition. The selected images to build the transition are
combined together in accordance with the predetermined transition
image mask pattern 95. In the case of the example on FIG. 14, the
transition mask pattern is the one described in FIG. 12. Finally
the sequence of masks 95 are applied to the equally ranked images
of the first and second sets 93, 94 to produce the first and second
image sequences with the transition set therebetween as shown in
the completed image set 96.
The images of the first and second sets, and the transition set,
are then interleaved in a known manner to form a lenticular image
which can then be printed, and the printed image aligned with a
corresponding lenticular lens sheet. The result will be that the
transition set will be viewable through the lens sheet as it is
tilted through an angle, at a location between the first and second
image sets. In the above and all other methods herein, all of the
image processing is preferably accomplished using a suitably
programmed microprocessor operating on the images in the form of
digital image signals. Using computers to perform such interleaving
is well known in the art of lenticular images. It will also be
appreciated that while the interleaving step is described above as
being performed after forming a transition set of images, it can be
performed during or even before forming the transition set (in the
latter case the transition set can be formed using lines from the
images of the first and second sets).
Another kind of transition is the type required when dealing with a
single motion image sequence that have to be played in some sort of
loop mode. When reaching the last image, the first image of the
sequence is then displayed right after, as previously explained
(FIG. 3). However, a transition can take place at that point so
that it becomes clear to the observer that a new sequence, which
is, in this case, the same sequence is starting over. As seen in
FIG. 15, to build such a transition set out of the single sequence
of images (line 101), a few additional pictures can be selected at
the beginning or at the end (line 102 and line 103, respectively)
or at both ends of the motion sequences. In each one of these sets,
the number of pictures is going to be the number of transition
images and typically comprises between one and twenty depending on
the total number of images available and the desired smoothness of
the transition. In the example in FIG. 15, two sets of three images
have been selected at the beginning (line 103) or at the end (line
102) of the motion sequence.
In addition, in FIG. 15, the images selected at the beginning
belong to the original motion sequence, while the images at the end
have been added to the original sequence, by either sampling some
additional images from an original source (such as a videotape) or
mathematically extrapolating some new images. Then the images at
the beginning (line 103) and at the end (line 102) of the motion
sequences that have been selected are combined together (line 104)
in accordance with a predetermined transition mask pattern. In FIG.
15 the transition mask pattern is the one shown in FIG. 12. Those
transition images can take place in the motion sequence at the
beginning (completed motion sequence 106) at the end (completed
motion sequence 105) or at both ends (completed motion sequences
107 and 108) or the motion sequence can be rebuilt with a
transition in the middle (completed motion sequence 109). This is
assuming that each line of the first image of any of the completed
sequences 106-109 is positioned to be the first line under each
lenticule (it will be understood of course, that the remainder of
the images of those sequences will be placed under each lenticule
in the order as shown in those sequences). However, it may be best
to split the transition image sequence equally into two sub-sets,
one at the beginning one at the end so that the observer can see
most of the motion sequence perpendicular to his axis of sight.
It will be appreciated that at least one of the first or second
regions can be in the shape of a real world object, or can be in
the shape of a view of a scene element from the first or second set
(which may or may not be a real world object). When the region is a
view of a scene element from one of the sets, it may be the same
view as shown in an image of the set, or it may be a different view
(that is, from a different perspective of an object in the scene).
FIG. 16 illustrates this concept. In FIG. 16 the first region in
transition set images 132, 134, 136, 138 is indicated by 126a
through 126d while the second region is regions 132a, 134a, 136a
and 138a. Each of regions 126a through 126d is in the shape of the
scene element being the bell 126 in the first image 120 (other
scene elements being people 122, 124 and balloons 125), while the
second region is the remainder of the transition set images.
Regions 126a through 126d expand in size proceeding from transition
image 132 to 138, and contains a portion of the image 120, while
the regions 132a, 134a, 136a, 138a contain corresponding image
portions from a second image 140.
The invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications can be effected within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
11 Lenticular Image 12 Lenticular Lens Sheet 12a, 12b Lens Sheet
Front Side, Back Side 13 Lenticules 14 Sets of Interleaved Lines
21, 22, 23 Display Positions 24 Observer 31 First Image 32
Intermediate Images 33 Last Image 34 Transition Set of Images 42,
43, 45 Image Lines 51 First Set Image 52, 53, 54 Transition Set
Image 52a, 52b Second Region, First Region 53a, 53b Second Region,
First Region 54a, 54b Second Region, First Region 55 Second Set
Image 61 First Set Image 62, 63, 64 Transition Set Images 62a, 62b
Regions 63a, 63b Regions 64a, 64b Regions 65 Second Set Image 71
First Set Image 72, 73, 74 Transitional Set Images 72a, 72b Image
Regions 73a, 73b Image Regions 74a, 74b Image Regions 81 Two Still
Images 82, 83 Set of Three Images 84 Image Masks 85 Complete Image
Set 91, 92 Motion Lenticular Images 93 First Motion Sequence Images
94 Second Motion Sequence Images 95 Transition Masks 96 Completed
Image Set 101 Single Sequence of Images 102, 103 Sets of Three
Images 104, 105, 106, Completed Motion Sequences 107, 108, 109 120
First Image 122, 124 Scene Elements (people) 125 Scene Elements
(Balloons) 126 Scene Element (Bell) 126a, 126b, First Regions 126c,
126d 132 Transition Set Images 132a Second Region 134 Transition
Set Images 134a Second Region 136 Transition Set Images 136a Second
Region 138 Transition Set Images 138a Second Region 140 Second
Image
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